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The School Counselor and Group Counseling

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(Adopted 1989; revised 1993, 2002, 2008; reviewed 1999, 2008, 2014, 2020)

ASCA Position

Group counseling is a vital direct service to students and is an effective part of a school counseling program. It has a positive effect on academic, career and social/emotional development and should be supported by school administration and school districts.

The Rationale

Group counseling, which involves a number of students working on shared tasks and developing supportive relationships in a group setting, is an efficient, effective and positive way of providing direct service to students with academic, career and social/emotional developmental issues and situational concerns. Group counseling has been shown to be effective in improving study skills (Kayler & Sherman, 2009), underachievement (Berger, 2018) and school adjustment (Steen, Liu, Shi, Rose, & Merino, 2018). Group counseling can help reduce social isolation and negative emotions, as well as increase positive peer relations and a sense of belonging. In group counseling, affect, cognition and behavior are emphasized. The group creates a climate of trust, caring, understanding and support that enables students to share their concerns with peers and the school counselor. Group work in schools represents an integral domain in the ASCA National Model (Erford, 2019; ASCA, 2019).

The School Counselor's Role

The school counselor’s training in group facilitation is unique to the school setting. School counselors provide group counseling services to students and utilize their specialized training to educate and inform school staff and administration on relevant professional group issues or topics. Group counseling services are based on individual student, school and community needs, which are assessed through student data, a referral process or other relevant data.

School counselors prioritize group offerings based on school data analysis. Group counseling should be available to all students in a pre-K–12 setting using data to inform decisions about group availability. School counselors have a responsibility to screen potential group members and address informed consent, purpose of the group, goals, limits to confidentiality and voluntary participation. Best practice will include parental/guardian consent and student agreement to participate (Falco 2011).

School counselors provide counseling sessions in small-group settings that:
  •  help students overcome issues impeding achievement or success
  • help students identify problems, causes, alternatives and possible consequences so they can make decisions and take appropriate action
  • are planned, goal-focused, evidenced-based and short-termed in nature
School counselors do not provide therapy or long-term counseling in schools to address psychological disorders. However, school counselors are prepared to recognize and respond to student mental health crises and needs. School counselors address those barriers to student success by offering instruction that enhances awareness of mental health and short-term intervention to include small-group counseling until the student is connected with available community resources. When students require long-term counseling or therapy, school counselors make referrals to appropriate community resources (ASCA, 2019) and maintain collaborative relationships with providers to align service coordination.

Summary

Group counseling is an efficient and effective way to meet students’ academic, career and social/emotional needs. Group counseling makes it possible for students to achieve healthier academic and personal growth in a rapidly changing global society. Group counseling is an integral part of a school counseling program and should be supported by school administrators and school districts. The school counselor’s training in group process benefits students, families, school staff and administration. Group counseling has a positive effect on academic achievement and personal growth.

References

American School Counselor Association. (2019). ASCA National Model: A framework for school counseling programs (4th ed.). Alexandria, VA: Author.

Bore, S., Armstrong, S., & Womack, A. (2014). School counselors’ experiential training in group work. GROUP Counseling. Retrieved from http://jsc.montana.edu/articles/v8n26.pdf

Berger, C. (2018). Bringing out the brilliance: A counseling intervention for underachieving students. Professional School Counseling, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X0001700102

Erford, B.T. (2019). Transforming the School Counseling Profession. (5th ed.) Boston, MA/Pearson Merrill.

Erford, B.T. (2019). Group work: Process an application (2nd. Ed.). Columbus, OH: Pearson Merrill.

Falco, L. D. (2011). Why groups? The importance of group counseling in schools. School Counseling Research and Practice, Journal of the Arizona School Counselors’ Association, 3, 17-23.

Kayler, H., & Sherman, J. (2009). At-risk ninth-grade students: A psychoeducational group approach to increase study skills and grade point averages. Professional School Counseling, 12(6). https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X0901200608

Steen, S., Liu, X., Shi, Q., Rose, J. & Merino, G. (2018). Promoting school adjustment for English-language learners through group work, Professional School Counseling, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X18777096
In this section
The School Counselor and Group Counseling
  • Academic Development
  • Annual Performance Appraisal
  • Anti-Racist Practices
  • Bullying/Harassment Prevention and the Promotion of Safe Schools
  • Career and Technical Education
  • Career Development
  • Character Education
  • Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention
  • Children Experiencing Homelessness
  • College Access Professionals
  • Confidentiality
  • Corporal Punishment
  • Credentialing and Licensure
  • Cultural Diversity
  • Discipline
  • Equity for All Students
  • Gender Equity
  • Gifted and Talented Student Programs
  • Group Counseling
  • High-Stakes Testing
  • Identification, Prevention and Intervention of Behaviors That Are Harmful and Place Students At-Risk
  • Individual Student Planning for Postsecondary Preparation
  • Letters of Recommendation
  • LGBTQ+ Youth
  • Multitiered System of Supports
  • Peer Support Programs
  • Prevention of School-Related Gun Violence
  • Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections
  • Retention, Social Promotion and Age-Appropriate Placement
  • Safe Schools and Crisis Response
  • School Counseling Preparation Programs
  • School Counseling Programs
  • School Counselor Supervision
  • School-Family-Community Partnerships
  • Social/Emotional Development
  • Student Mental Health
  • Student Postsecondary Recruitment
  • Student Safety and the Use of Technology
  • Students with Disabilities
  • Suicide Prevention/Awareness
  • Suicide Risk Assessment
  • Supporting Students in Foster Care
  • Test Preparation Programs
  • Transgender and Nonbinary Youth
  • Trauma-Informed Practice
  • Use of Non-School-Counseling Credentialed Personnel in Implementing School Counseling Programs
  • Use of Support Staff in School Counseling Programs
  • Virtual School Counseling
  • Working with Students Experiencing Issues Surrounding Undocumented Status
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